Malta’s financial watchdog, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), has recently revealed it ‘became aware’ of an entity going by Bitcoin Revolution, which it claims is likely an “international “get-rich-quick” cryptocurrency scam.”
According to a recently published document, the MFSA has warned Bitcoin Revolution operates through the website the-bitcoin-revolution.org and several others, while promoting itself through advertisements and social media pages. In its promotions, it links itself to various local personalities, without their consent.
The scheme was reportedly using these personalities’ influence to claim they made large profits on their cryptocurrency investments with it. Initially, it used a picture of a Maltese actor and TV star to claim she turned a €250 deposit into €483 in “three minutes.”
Per the country’s financial regulator, investors should “refrain from undertaking any business or transactions with the entity.” The document reads:
The MFSA strongly advises investors and consumers of financial services that prior to making any investment or entering into any financial services transaction they should make sure that the entity with whom the investment or transaction is being made is authorised to provide such services by the MFSA or another financial services regulatory authority as applicable.
It adds that to date, no entity is authorized under the country’s Virtual Financial Assets Act (VFA), which was passed back in July. It emphasized Bitcoin Revolution is an entity that’s neither registered nor licensed to provide financial and investment services in Malta.
The Bitcoin Revolution scheme had notably already been reported by various Maltese personalities earlier this month. Malta, referred to by some as the “blockchain island,” was the first country to establish a full regulatory framework for distributed ledger technology.
Last year, its Prime Minister, Joseph Muscat, claimed “blockchain makes cryptocurrencies the inevitable future of money,” while speaking at the general debate of the 73rd Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN).
